Yes, you have to clean your cleaners. Replace the bag, clean the dust cup, and replace or wash the filters. Snip threads snarled in the brush with scissors or a seam ripper. For the best carpet cleaning in the future, set your vacuum’s nozzle to the lowest level that lets Read more…
Use a blast of steam from your iron to disguise imprints – just hold the iron above the area, press the “steam burst” button several times, then fluff. Another option? putting an ice cube in each indention, letting cubes slowly melting, then lifting carpet fibers back up with a spool. Read more…
Once a week, shake baking soda on a damp sponge and wipe around the machine’s edges to remove stuck-on food or stains. To clean the inside, run an empty cycle with Dishwasher Magic, a product designed to kill bacteria like E.coli. During cold and flu season, add a quarter-cup of Read more…
It’s hard to believe, but your dirty kitchen sink has more bacteria than your toilet seat. Use a product labeled as an EPA-registered disinfectant, or make your own. To disinfect, clean your sink with soap and water first, then spray a mist of vinegar followed by a mist of hydrogen Read more…
To make this surface sparkle again (see ya, fingerprints), mix a solution of 1 teaspoon dish detergent and 1 quart hot tap water. Using a microfiber cloth, rub the detergent solution onto the marks in small sections (it will take a little elbow grease), going with the grain. Rinse with Read more…
Word to the wise: If the food from your plates doesn’t make it out of your machine, it might start to smell (yuck). So remove food bits from around the filter (below the lower spray arm), then pop it out and rinse it thoroughly under hot water. Run a cycle Read more…
Sticky kitchen grime is a mix of dust and grease that’s invisible until it builds up. Run the exhaust hood over your range every time you cook to keep grease from settling. Do an extra pass around door and drawer pulls and other places where grease collects.
Removing pesky pet hair from upholstery and drapes is tedious, and cleaning a lint brush is a nightmare. But all you need are rubber gloves to rid your furniture of fur — just pull on your traditional gloves, dampen them and collect the problem fuzz.
Like your lamp shades and drapes! Put your dryer to work and toss drapes, curtains, and even throw pillows in the dryer for 15 minutes on the “air-only” cycle, then rehang immediately to prevent wrinkles. Another spot to tackle? Your lampshade. Speed up the process with a lint roller.
You’ll trap the most dirt by using two mats, one outside the door and one inside. But if they’re dirty, they won’t do the job: Hose off and air-dry mats, and vacuum indoor ones on both sides — vacuuming the back will push trapped dirt out onto the floor where Read more…